Puzzles
by Bml1997
Summary: Marissa and Kowalski take on their new responsibilities as parents in stride. However, things become a challenge when a couple of old friends are rediscovered and in dire need of help. (Sequel to The Wrath of Love)
1. A Picnic Lunch

**Chapter 1: A Picnic Lunch**

Kowalski gets the fish hatch open and then looks at Marissa. "Maybe we should go instead through the front door…" he suggests with an anxious look at the bundle in her flippers.

"It's fine, Kowalski. I've got it," she says as she starts down.

"But you might get dizzy on the way down!"

Marissa glares at him. "I'm fine. Look, see? Already on the floor!"

Kowalski nods and hurries down the ladder after her. "I just...I don't want anything to go wrong," he says and taps his flipper-tips together with a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"Kowalski…" she sighs. "It's going to be fine. This is nature, not science. Nature has dealt with this sort of thing since the very beginning of time. Plus, Skippsy is going to make frequent check ups on it and how we are parenting. It's going to be fine."

"So we thought of 75% of our other inventions and you know how THOSE have went!" he exclaims.

Marissa shakes her head and continues to the lab. "As I said, nature versus science. Now go get that pen you've been praising and raving about."

"Right, right." Kowalski nods and slides into the lab. He drags out a small play-pen with wooden sides and rails and some quilts layered on the bottom. "Rico made it mostly, I just found a picture online, and Private made the quilts," he says excitedly. "And Skipper tested it to make sure it is strong enough and won't just collapse when we sit it in there."

Marissa gently runs a flipper along the upper rim of the pen and nods. "It's perfect, Kowalski." She smiles. She then softly sits the bundled egg in the center and covers it more.

Kowalski nods and then plugs in a cord. "And it isn't too high-tech, but I added an electric blanket so we can keep it at a nice, constant temperature as though it was in an incubator so you-we don't have to sit cramped over it all day."

"That's great...Though, Kowalski…" She looks at him. "It's supposed to hatch at any time now. It is a bit late to try an incubatory approach."

Kowalski just waves the statement away. "It will still enjoy having a warm nest as a nearly naked chick."

"Of course." She nods and then leans her head on his shoulder with a small smile. He leans his head on hers as they look at their little egg.

After a few minutes Marissa sighs and lifts her head. Kowalski looks at her. "What's wrong?"

"I should go back to Skippsy and the others, but…" She looks at the egg.

Kowalski nods understandingly. "I'm sure she is okay with you staying here with us until it hatches. I mean, you're a mother now and you wouldn't want to possibly miss your chick hatching."

She nods and leans her head on him again. "Point made…"

"Plus you are still supposed to be resting. Your hormones are still settling down." He nods and softly rubs her back.

"I feel fine, Kowalski. You're the one acting like your hormones are out of order." She sticks her tongue out at him.

Kowalski nods and rests his chin on her head. "I'm just nervous."

"Maybe you need another shot in the buttox with that anxiety medication the vet has," she snorts.

"Mhm, no thank you." He chuckles. "I believe we should test the waters with this one chick before we risk having more."

Marissa nods. "Great, we're on the same page."

Kowalski nods and kisses her head. "Do you ever talk to your mom anymore?"

"No...I haven't heard from her since I joined the military. She told me she wasn't going through the stress she had with Dad with me too and locked the door behind me." She looks at him. "You?"

"On the holidays usually…" He nods. "Maybe we should find out her number and you could try calling her. Surely after all this time she will be more reasonable."

Marissa looks at the egg. "I don't know…"

"I'll ask my parents if they still are in contact, I'm sure they probably are." He smiles at her and rubs her back.

"Fine…" she sighs.

Kowalski smiles at her softly. "Would you like for us to go have lunch in the park? I'm sure the fresh air will be good for both of us and the egg after that time in that room."

Marissa nods. "That sounds good, yeah." She smiles at him and then looks around. "Where is everyone anyway?"

"Private texted me that they were going on an overnight recon mission outside a possible Blowhole lair," he sighs and looks away.

"Oh." She nods and softly holds his flipper. "Well, there will be other missions. Let's go have that lunch," she says, kissing his cheek and getting the egg.

Kowalski nods and grabs a few fish from the fridge and puts them in a basket with a bottle of white wine and some glasses from his lab. He also stuffs a blanket into the basket as well and waddles over to her with a chuckle. "We could nearly sit the egg in here too."

Marissa gives him a look and shakes her head. "Not even funny. It would smell like fish."

"Mari, we're penguins, it is going to smell like fish anyhow."

"Yes, but it doesn't have to smell that strongly," she says and hugs the egg closer to her chest.

Kowalski softly pecks her cheek. "Come on then," he sighs. "I believe we really do need that time out in the open." He helps her up the ladder before following her up. The two then waddle, flipper in flipper, to their special spot in the park. Kowalski spreads the blanket over the grass before Marissa sits down with the egg in her lap.

"Lunch isn't very fancy, but it was a fast grab." He smiles at her as he gets out the fish and wine.

"As long as this time you didn't accidentally grab the beakers you were testing poisons in again, I don't mind." She chuckles.

Kowalski awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "I thought we agreed to let that go…"

"We did." Marissa nods and adjusts her glasses. "But it never hurts to remember so you do not make the same mistake again."

"I won't. I keep my glasses and beakers on different sides of the room now," he says as he uncorks the wine.

"Oh, that's good." She nods.

Kowalski nods and pours the glasses. "Anyway...Marissa there is something I was wanting to ask you while we are out here."

"Mmh?" She looks at him as she has the fish already halfway to her beak.

"Marissa, we've known each other a while now...Despised each other for years, dated for a few months and now have an egg…."

Marissa stares at him. "Yeah so?"

Kowalski smiles and gets a little box out of his feathers and opens it. "I know it is pretty basic. I plan on finding you a more modern version soon…But...I…"

She stares at the pebble in the box and then at him and then back at the box.

"But I was wondering...If you'd...Erm...Marry...Me?" He looks at her with an awkward, hesitant smile.

Marissa still stares at him and the pebble for a moment as though what he just said was in a completely different language.

Kowalski's smile starts to fade and he looks at her. "M-Marissa?"

"You...Want to marry me?" she then stutters quietly and looks at him. "After all the insults and the bullying?"

This time Kowalski is the one staring and blinking for a moment before he gives her a strange look. "Well, yes, I do or I wouldn't be asking would I?"

"B-But…" She looks away. "But I'm not nice. You deserve a nice girl."

"Marissa…"

"I-I know we have a chick together and all...But I never thought you'd want to be this committed to me. I-I...I'm not a good choice. I'm a horrible choice. I'd make a terrible wife, I'm too mean!" she exclaims.

Kowalski gets her flipper and shakes his head. "No...No, you're not. Marissa, you were mean in the past because you were hurting. You're not a bad choice. I love you, I want to marry you, Marissa, I do."

Marissa looks at him anxiously. "I...I love you too...But…But...There are better girls out there."

"But I don't want to marry a 'better girl,' Marissa, I want to marry you. Just you," he sighs and rubs her flipper.

She looks at the pebble again and then nods. "I...I will marry you...But I hope you know what you'll be getting into. I'm not an easy penguin to live with."

Kowalski chuckles and kisses her cheek. "I knew what I was getting into the moment I realized I loved you. It will be a challenge, but you're worth it."

Marissa looks down at her egg, shaking her head a little. "I'm not...But if you're willing to put up with me as your wife, I'd be an idiot to say no."

Kowalski then softly hugs her. "You really need to send a message to that Commander Gray about seeing a therapist."

"But I don't need a therapist." She shakes her head and hugs him.

"You don't want one, but you should see one," he sighs and kisses her head. "But I will find you a nice ring eventually, I promise."

Marissa shakes her head. "I like the pebble." She smiles at him. "It's beautiful."

Kowalski smiles at her and nuzzles her neck. "But I will still find you a ring. You can't wear and show off a pebble."

"No, I guess I can't." She smiles a little and leans her head on his shoulder. He puts his flipper around her and holds her close to his side. He then gets his fish and finally eats it.

"Kowalski."

"Yes?" He looks at her.

Marissa is staring at the egg. "It's _moving_."

"Moving?" he repeats and looks at it. He then begins to get it out from the blanket to check it.

"Is it hatching?" she asks.

"Well...If it is trying to right now, it hasn't broken through the shell yet."

"Maybe we should go back to the HQ now just in case," she says, standing up. "This is not a sanitary condition for it to hatch into."

"Yes, but do we really want it getting amniotic fluid all over the lab? That doesn't come out of anything easily," he says, looking at the egg.

Marissa nods and looks nervously at the egg as it begins to crack. "Do we need to help it?"

"No, it should be capable of hatching itself….I think." He frowns thoughtfully.

"But what if it gets too tired and has a heart attack from not being strong enough and it trying too hard?" she asks panickedly.

Kowalski looks at her now worriedly and then at the egg again. "Maybe we should help it after it gets started."

Marissa nods and watches it. Kowalski lifts the egg and looks it over. They then just sit and anxiously watch the egg for nearly an hour before a little hole appears near the top of the egg. Kowalski carefully helps the chick open the hole further. Both he and Marissa stare down into the hole at the little naked chick. Kowalski then carefully picks the chick up out of the shell.

"It's a boy." Marissa then smiles.

The chick wiggles a little in Kowalski's flippers as he wraps the blanket around it. It chirps and blinks its eyes open and looks blearily at them.

"He's got your eyes." He smiles and picks a piece of eggshell off of the chick's shoulder.

Marissa then gets the bundled chick from Kowalski and holds him close. "Our little Atlas…" she says and smiles widely and kisses the chick on the head. The chick sneezes and then squeeks and wriggles in her grasp.

Kowalski chuckles and gets closer to them. "Atlas after the Greek titan or Atlas after a robot in that game you play?"

She shrugs and gives him a look over her glasses. "Does it matter? His name will be Atlas and that is that."

"So it was after the game character." He nods and chuckles.

Marissa rolls her eyes and looks at her little green eyed chick with a smile. "You'll have to forgive your father, he has the tendency to be an idiot." The chick only chirps and reaches for her glasses.


	2. Learning the Basics

**/A.N.~ Here is chapter 2 :D**

 **Chapter 2: Learning the Basics**

Hours later, the others return to the HQ and are met with the sound of loud crying.

"Hoover dam! What is this caterwauling?!" Skipper exclaims covering his ear holes.

Kowalski pokes his head out from the lab. "Skipper!" He exclaims. He hasn't felt this relieved to see another penguin in a while, but he already was getting to his wit's end on how to get the chick to stop crying.

Skipper waddles over. "Rico got injured, take care of that." He sighs and waddles past him into the lab. Marissa is in there trying to entice the chick to calm with a stuffed penguin from the gift shop. "Why is it crying?"

"I don't know! He was quiet until we brought him in!"

"Have you tried feeding him? Holding him?" Skipper asks. "Have you even given him a name yet?"

"He has a name! His name is Atlas! And I gave him a fish, but he wouldn't eat it!" She sounds nearly desperate.

He face-flippers and gets the wailing chick up from the crib and looks at her. "I'll do this _once_ as an example, okay? After this, it is for you and Kowalski to take care of. I'm not going to mommy your chick." He sighs and nudges the chick's beak with his own. Marissa watches as Atlas sniffles and opens his beak wide and then Skipper feeds him.

"Ewwww! That's how they have to be fed?!" Marissa exclaims. "But that's so gross!"

Skipper rolls his eyes but feeds the chick instead of replying. After a few minutes the chick moves its head away and squirms. He gives the chick back to Marissa. "You could probably feed him on formula like Alice would, but it's healthier and more natural I'm sure to feed him by mouth." He shrugs. "It ought to be instinct."

"You know Kowalski and I have no natural instincts." She sighs and softly rubs Atlas's back. "But thank you..."

"You two need to develop some. If you can't take care of your own chick, Alice will get it and take care of it instead. You really want an idiot human raising your chick? Indoctrinating it in the ways of captivity?"

Marissa holds Atlas close and shakes her head. "She's not going to lay a hand on my chick. I'll bite it off first."

Skipper nods with a small, pleased smile. "And here you claim not to have any instincts." He chuckles, waddling out. "You just haven't noticed them yet."

Marissa holds her chick closely as it coos and chirps. She looks at the door as Kowalski waddles in. "Hand me a splint, Rico dislocated his sesamoid." He sighs.

"But I'm with child." She says and nuzzles the chick.

Kowalski smiles a little and gets the splint himself. "Well once Private is finished helping me with Rico, I can nearly guarantee you that he's going to be after you to see Atlas."

"Okay." She nods and softly gets her feathers from Atlas's tiny flippers. "When he does, can you watch them? I should call Skippsy now that he's quiet and let her know the big news."

"Roger that." He smiles and pecks her cheek before waddling out of the room again.

Atlas squeaks loudly after Kowalski and squirms more. Marissa repositions him and looks him in the face. "Calm down please, the HQ isn't baby-proofed yet and I don't want you to get cut or blown up." She says looking him in the eyes.

The chick only coos and reaches for her glasses.

Marissa moves her head back. "No, stop, I need those."

Atlas starts crying again and reaches.

She then sighs and lets him get her glasses. "Fine, if it will make you be quiet."

The chick squeals and shakes the glasses around triumphantly. He then tries gnawing loudly and slobbery on the legs of the glasses.

"Don't eat them!" She exclaims and tries to get them back.

Atlas growls at her and throws the glasses onto the ground.

Marissa hears them hit the floor and frowns at Atlas. "See what you've done? Now Mama can't see and she's stuck standing here holding you."

He giggles and gets her beak with a happy coo.

"Oh? You like making things hard for Mama? Well, let's see how much you like this!" She starts nuzzling his sides and he giggles loudly and squirms. "Ah, I see you're ticklish!" She chuckles and pets him and lets him calm down again. She looks around at the blurry fog and sighs. She can't risk walking or she might step on her glasses. She can't risk sitting or she may sit on them.

Kowalski enters the room again to put away his medical kit. Atlas squirms and reaches for him, cooing.

"Kowalski, he threw my glasses, find them, please?" She sighs.

He looks around before seeing them and softly sitting them on her beak. "There you go." He smiles. Atlas flaps his tiny flippers and curiously grabs hold of Kowalski's chest feathers.

"I think he says it's your turn." She says, passing him over.

"Oh." He looks at her and then at the chick.

"BLAAAAGRAAAAAAAA!" The chick shouts and giggles.

"Really?" He sighs and pets his head. This was already proving to be a larger challenge than he had expected. He had of course tended to Jiggles and other lab specimens before...But none of them very quite this vocal. The ducklings even are usually fairly calm and quiet.

Private then peeks into the room at the chick. "Aww! He's adorable! Congratulations!" He smiles widely and comes closer.

Kowalski offers him the chick. "Want to hold him so I can finish cleaning up in here?"

The boy nods excitedly and gets the chick from him. Atlas coos and looks at Private for a moment before looking around the room and chirping at random objects. He then carries Atlas to the main room and sits with him at the kitchen table.

Atlas starts crying the moment Private sits, so he stands back up and rocks him and the chick calms again. He rubs the chick's back and he falls asleep on his shoulder.

After a little while, Kowalski waddles over. "Here, I'll get him now." He smiles and softly gets the chick from him and takes him back to the lab.

Marissa looks up from her computer. "Probably time for his diaper to be changed, Kowalski."

"And you want to change it?" Kowalski says hopefully.

She gives him an even look over her glasses. "I'll allow his father to have the honor of the first change since instead of watching him you handed him off to Private."

Kowalski sighs and nods. "Fine, fine. I'll change his diaper. Surely it can't be that bad."

Marissa returns to looking at her computer with a sly chuckle. "According to Skippsy the first is always the most horrific."

"She was probably just trying to intimidate us." He rolls his eyes and gets a diaper and wipes. He lays the still sleeping chick down and opens the diaper and immediately turns his head away. "Good Galileo that is not humane." He gags.

"Told you it wasn't going to be pretty." She smirks. "And I'd keep the diaper closed until it is swapped with the other. He is a boy, so he could aim."

"He's asleep, Marissa. He isn't going to aim anything." He snorts as he cleans and changes the chick.

Marissa chuckles. "I don't know...I do remember you used to pee in your sleep back some years ago."

"Because you put my flipper in water!" He exclaims.

"In all fairness, you tested that experiment on me first, I only replicated it to see if you did the same as me, and since I did not pee, it showed that that method is not always successful."

Kowalski rolls his eyes and throws away the diaper. "Anyway, that wasn't too terrible."

"I wouldn't tell Skippsy that if I were you. She was hoping it'd be the worst fate you'd ever befall." She chuckles.

"Yeah, I know." He picks Atlas up and lays him on his shoulder. "She just doesn't know my limits. That was well in my limits. She ever wants true disgust, she should let Rico swallow her whole one day...The things she'd see….They're not unseeable." He shivers at the thought.

Marissa looks at him and opens her beak as if to ask, but then shakes her head. "I don't even want to know…."


	3. Dock Shock

**Chapter 3: Dock Shock**

While Atlas naps in his playpen, the adults gather in the kitchen. Skipper and Kowalski drag a few chairs in from the lab to the table. "I wonder what Skippsy found on her patrol that she felt needed a meeting."

"I don't know, sir...I'd expect that's what the meeting will be about."

Skipper gives him a glance. "If you're trying to be funny, Kowalski, I'd suggest you stop."

Kowalski just shrugs with an amused smile and decides to change the subject. "I talked with Marlene earlier."

"About what?" He now looks at him in interest.

"Nothing really, but she said that there's another leak in her ceiling." He says, putting a chair down.

Skipper nods. "I'll drop by there later and take a look."

Kowalski looks at him curiously. "You may want to check her ceiling thoroughly then. Maybe even her roof, sir. She has needed ceiling repair work four times this month already."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll check it real good." Skipper nods and rolls his eyes.

"I can come with you if you like to make sure it is well checked…."

"Nope." He shakes his head. "It just takes one man to fix her roof."

"Mhmm hmm." Kowalski eyes him suspiciously.

"What?" Skipper narrows his eyes at him.

"Nothing." Kowalski shakes his head with a tiny, knowing smile. "Nothing at all, sir."

Skipper rolls his eyes again and looks at the hatch as Skippsy, Rachel, and Trixy drop down. "Alright, Skippsy what's this all about?" He crosses his flippers.

"In a minute, I need Kowalski and Marissa to get some medical supplies first. I think I found an old friend in bad condition." Skippsy says quickly. "Trixy, stay here, Rachel, you come with again. Rico, if you could too. We might need the muscle."

Rico and Kowalski look at Skipper who nods for them to follow her orders. "I'll come too." He then says. "Private, you and Trixy are on chick duty until we're back." He then follows them all up the ladder.

"This way, quick!" Skippsy orders as she slides ahead. "Rachel and I weren't strong enough alone. He's wedged in."

"He?" Skipper glances at her curiously as he follows close behind her.

"You'll see in a minute, Skips."

The group slides up to the docks. Skippsy leads them over to some toppled crates where there is a small dark blue flipper sticking out from under.

Kowalski slides straight to the cranes. "This could prove as an easier plan than manually moving the crates." He begins crossing the wires under the consul.

Marissa hops up too. "You get the power on and I'll work the controls."

Skipper nods at them and looks at Rico. "Crowbar me."

As requested, Rico coughs up some crowbars and gives him one. Rachel copies him, giving one to Skippsy and the four of them begin trying to get the crate lifted.

"Ha!" Kowalski exclaims as he climbs up from the floorboard. "All systems should be a go."

"Great." Marissa nods and begins to operate the crane very carefully. She gets the hook over the crate, but it isn't long enough to reach the crate's cord.

Kowalski slides out and hops up beside the crate. "Okay, don't drop it, but I have to get on top and hold the cord for Marissa. Won't be but a second or two." He says, mostly to the limp flipper under the crate. He scrambles on top and holds the heavy cord up as far as he can and helps the hook grab it. He nods to Marissa and holds onto the hook cord as she begins to slowly lift the crate.

"Hoover Dam!" Skipper exclaims and rushes over to the body laying there on the dock bank. "Hoover Dam!"

"I told you! By kipper I told you, Skipper!" Skippsy says.

"Hoover Dam! I just—Hoover Dam." He shakes his head with his eyes wide with disbelief.

Rico gasps and slides over to the unconscious blue form on the ground. "'Fredi!" He scoops him up and cradles him close. "'Ipper! 'Fredi!"

Kowalski slowly comes over. "Rico…" He takes a slow, deep breath. "Marissa and I need to see if he's...Helpable."

Rico looks at him and at the limp Manfredi in his flippers and finally nods and lets Kowalski have him. "Make be'er?" He asks quietly.

Skipper watches them in silence, standing next to Rico with his flippers clasped behind his back. Skippsy gently pats Rico's shoulder. "They'll do what they can, Rico...We don't know how bad off he is...You can't be mad if they can't make him better, okay?" She says softly.

Rico looks at the ground and nods. "He my li'l buddy…"

Skippsy glances at Rachel who nods and leads Rico a little away. "Come this way, amigo. You do not need to watch." She smiles softly at him.

Kowalski meanwhile begins to check Manfredi over for injuries while Marissa jots down notes. "A few broken ribs...A badly healed flipper break that needs re-broken...Leg amputation, a clean job, must have been done by John—Johnson." He swallows and takes a moment before continuing. "Scarring, bruising, a few cuts, a fresh looking bullet wound here, but looks like a clean shot." He looks at how there is some thick torn cloth shoved through it, possibly wrapped around something hard and cylindrical. "Don't touch the cloth until we're back at the HQ." He checks his pulse. "His pulse is weak, but steady. I'd assume he also has a concussion from that crate...But all in all, he may be fixable if we hurry. But keep him steady and straight out for in case of any spinal injury he may have. I'll have to x-ray him to determine if he has any of that, of course."

Skippsy waddles over to Rachel and Rico. "We need a stretcher. He's in bad shape, but they think he may still be saveable."

Rico hacks up the stretcher, looking very concerned, but Rachel keeps him from following Skippsy as she drags the stretcher over to Kowalski and Marissa. He watches from afar as they carefully lift him and lay him on the stretcher and strap him in. He can't make out with Kowalski says, but Skipper nods and waddles over to him and Rachel.

"Kowalski, Marissa, and Skippsy are going ahead with him so they can begin work on him. Skippsy will come back for us since we wouldn't all fit with the stretcher." He nods stiffly.

Rico only nods and looks sad.

"The fact that he's still alive though…" Skipper smiles. "I always knew he was sturdy...But maybe he knows what has happened to Johnson and we can ask him when he's recovered."

"Kow'ski." He nods.

"Yes...Kowalski would like to know about him very much." Skipper nods and gently squeezes his shoulder. "But chin up, soldier. He'll be healthy as a horse before you know it."

Rico nods and watches as the little pink zoo coup drives away with his friend.


	4. Waiting

**Chapter 4: Waiting**

Hours later, Kowalski and Marissa are still hard at work performing surgeries on Manfredi. The rest of the teams sit out in the main room, trying to keep themselves occupied, but still they glance from time to time at the locked lab door.

"Manfredi always enjoyed playing pirate, I'm sure with having a leg amputated he found a way to look to the brightside." Skippsy says monotoned.

"But a plunger to hop around with, Skippsy? That ain't no way for him to get around worth a kipper." Skipper sighs and stirs his coffee.

"We have three marvelous inventors in our group, Skipper. They'll figure something out for him. I'd bet a whole catfish on it." She smiles. "Trixy already is making some plans as it is."

"So he's going to think of himself as a cyborg pirate?" He looks at her, highly unamused.

"Exactly! And he'll make up all kinds of stories to tell the women to explain it." She chuckles.

Skipper groans and sits back in his chair. "Hoover Dam...I had gotten used to having a calm unit that wasn't always out irritating the native dames. I'll have to lock up my coffee again."

"And the caffeinated sodas and any alcohol." She nods.

"But we'll get used to him again in no time." He sighs. "But how we will both Manfredi-proof and baby-proof the HQ…"

"Don't worry about baby-proofing." She shakes her head. "Marissa can bring him to our HQ to live for now."

"For now?" He looks at her.

Skippsy nods slowly and looks away. "For the next few months at least…"

"What do you mean?"

"They're closing up West Park Zoo…Didn't get enough donations to keep it up so they'll be shipping us all off to zoos all over...Halibut, they may even separate each of us individually." She sighs. "But for sure it wouldn't be to here."

"Why not?" He looks at her. "You girls keep getting sent here as it is."

"For short term...Your habitat is too small for four, well, six more inhabitants to move into." She shakes her head. "But I'll do what I can to keep as many of the four of us together as I can."

Skipper just stares at her for a moment before looking away and thinking. He had just started to get used to dealing with his sister again, working with her and all...And now she was going to leave to who knows where? And their teams? He looks over at Private and Trixy who are watching TV.

"No."

Skippsy looks at him. "What?"

"No. Just, no."

"Skips, what are you talking about?"

"You won't have to keep you all together. Once we got this with Manfredi straight, we'll enlarge the habitat." He nods.

"But what about the humans?" She frowns. "They'd notice something like that and get suspicious."

"No they won't. We'll do what we did with Gus that time he tried to fix our water pipe." He looks smug.

She looks at him like he's lost his mind. "You've lost me."

"We'll do it all in one night."

"One night?!" She gasps. "You've really lost me now, Skips."

"Just the basic enlarging, you'll see, but we'll need some tunnelers." He thinks for a moment. "Like, the beavers, the badgers...And meerkats."

Skippsy sputters and stares at him. "Ain't no way, no how I'm asking for help from those bandit-eyed weasels! They'll want to move in here too if I tell'em. There're too many obnoxious neighbors around here as it is!"

"Well, would you rather deal with them or have your team located to various locations around the country...All alone...Swimming alone."

Skippsy sort of growls and pulls at the ends of her hair-like feathers before sighing with a scowl. "I really hate you some days, Skipper."

"I knew you'd see things the right way." He smirks and pats her back. "Would have been hard for me to call you my sister if you didn't put your team first."

"I won't bring up those times they've said you put yourself first." She smirks back.

"Anyone can slip up now and then." He snorts and crosses his flippers. "Either way, just get the the meerkats to cooperate and stall the ship-offs as long as you can. We'll handle the rest."

"Alright…" She eyes him suspiciously. "But you still want us to keep the kid for now?"

Skipper rubs under his chin thoughtfully. "Marlene."

"You lost me again." She sighs.

"Marlene can watch the boy."

"But she's not a bird, Skipper, she won't be able to feed him right." Skippsy shakes her head.

Skipper considers this. "The only female bird around here I know is Shelley..." He looks awkward. "I wouldn't put the life of any soldier of mine in her wings ever. Her ladder doesn't go all the way to the second floor if you get the jist." He looks at her.

"Well, Skipper, I think the soldier isn't ours to choose what happens with it...We should let it up to his parents."

"They're busy." He shrugs and crosses his flippers.

"Maybe then we should let him stay with Marlene and I'm okay with lending use of Trixy." She nods.

"That could work." Skipper nods and looks over at the paypen. Atlas is staring at him, with wide green eyes as he sucks on his flipper. "He's going to be a troublemaker when he's older."

Skippsy laughs and shakes her head. "I seem to recall Daddy saying the same about us."

"Are you saying he was wrong?" He glances at her.

"Nope." She chuckles. "But he'll be a smart boy for sure, I mean two scientists...He's going to be a giant nerd. I don't think he'll be a troublemaker, you've got Manfredi again for that...If he makes it, that is."

"Yeah, if he makes it…" He sighs and takes a sip of his coffee. "Not sure how well Rico would take losing him a second time if he doesn't...Barely were able to rein him in last time before he hurt himself."

"I'm sure they'll get the boy all patched up." She smiles a little at him. "You remember back when it was just you, me, Manfredi, Johnson, and Benny?"

"Yeah…" He sighs and looks at the floor. "If I had been more mature…"

"Skipper…" She puts her flipper on his. "I'm...Okay with it now. I hate that he's gone and I miss him...But it's okay. You didn't mean for him to die, you just wanted to give him a hard time because you were trying to micromanage my love life. I'm getting better with it."

Skipper turns and looks at her. "Have you been doing what you said the Commander told you to do?"

"Yep…" She takes a sip of coffee. "Yeah, once every two weeks I've been skyping with a therapist. He shipped me some antidepressants that have actually helped."

"That's good." He nods.

"Yep…Maybe you should try it."

"Nope."

"Awh, come on, Skips. You wouldn't need antidepressants, but something to help with paranoia could help out." She playfully punches his shoulder.

"My 'paranoia' keeps us all alive. That's different than your depression, your issue nearly got you killed." He gives her a stern look. "I'm fine."

Skippsy frown and snorts. "I thought we agreed to not talk of that night."

"I said I wouldn't tell your girls, I never said I wouldn't remind you of how low you stooped."

Skippsy just shakes her head and sips her coffee without a word. They then look over at the lab as the door opens and Kowalski steps out.

"And?" Skipper calls over.

Kowalski waddles over to him. "He's still out and will be in horrific pain when he wakes up...He lost a lot of blood, but Marissa has gone out the backway to go get some and some heavy duty painkillers, so as not to alarm everyone." He whispers. "But he will be fine. In fact, if we just can make him a new leg, he'll be just as good as he was."

"That's excellent!" Skippsy smiles.

Kowalski nods and looks tired. "I know Trixy is planning him a mechanical prosthetic...But I think with enough research we could possibly 3D print him a new leg and surgically attach it and have it grow with him as though he never lost it."

"Plastic leg?" Skipper looks at him.

"No, out of flesh...I'm talking about stem cells, sir."

"And where do you plan on getting them?" Skippsy narrows her eyes a bit. "Having another egg with Marissa so you can kill it and use the cells?"

Kowalski looks at her surprised. "No! That isn't our plan at all. There are lab facilities doing stem cell research...I just need one slide of cells and we can replicate enough of them and raise them to become leg cells for him...But we'd need to contact the penguin facilities, which will be more paperwork than infiltrating a human facility...But a human facility's cells wouldn't cooperate with Manfredi's body."

Skipper nods slowly. "Let's just keep that in the research phase for now, Kowalski...We'll see how well he does with a mechanical leg first."

"Yes, sir." He nods and returns to the lab.

"And so our scientists become controversial…" Skippsy sighs. "For once I wonder if it wouldn't be better for us to allow the humans to tend to him."

"A human would just put him to sleep." Skipper shakes his head. "To them he'd just be another dumb animal, they wouldn't even try to fix him."


	5. An Old File

**Chapter 5: An Old File**

"I think he may be coming to."

"You have the painkillers ready and raised?"

"No, Moron, I thought he should man up and squirm with the pain. Of course I have the IV in, I'm not stupid!"

"I never accused you of being stupid, Woman. Maybe you should take a nap with Atlas."

"And leave you alone with him? If he codes we both need to be here."

"Touché."

Manfredi slowly turns his head and moans quietly.

"Shh! You're being too loud you'll wake him, Moron!"

"I thought we agreed that you would stop calling me that!"

"I say it with all the love I can muster!"

Manfredi blinks his bright green eyes open and looks blearily at the two scientists standing over his bed.

"Easy there, Manfredi, you don't want to pop your stitches."

He weakly turns his head and looks at Kowalski and focuses on him. "Ko-wal-ski?"

Kowalski smiles at him and nods. "Yes, but you should save your energy and not waste it on talking. Go back to sleep."

Manfredi instead turns and looks at Marissa and blinks.

"That's Marissa, and before you get any ideas, she's taken." Kowalski shakes his head.

"By who? He mumbles.

"By me."

Manfredi looks over at him again in disbelief.

Kowalski chuckles and pats his head gently. "Go to sleep, Manfredi. When you're feeling better we'll catch you up...Until then you need to sleep so I have an excuse to keep Rico from hugging you in half."

"Who all still here?" He mumbles.

Kowalski gets Marissa a stool. "Well, I'm here, Rico, Private, and Skipper...But we also ran into Skippsy and her team a couple years back. We've began to merge the teams."

"Names?" He looks at him.

"Marissa, Rachel, and Trixy are Skippsy's recruits."

"Don't forget Atlas." Marissa says, waddling towards the door.

"Atlas?" Manfredi looks at her confused.

"I was going to explain him later when he's not so medicated." Kowalski looks at her as Marissa shrugs and waddles out. He sighs and looks at Manfredi. "Atlas is Marissa's and my chick. He's only a few days old."

"I can't believe it...The nerd got lucky before I did…" He groans.

"Manfredi, you are lucky enough being to be alive. There will be time enough for all that once you've recovered. Go to sleep."

Manfredi weakly grabs Kowalski's flipper. "Johnny's still alive...But in danger…"

He looks at him in shock. "Where?"

"I'll have to show you…" He starts trying to get up.

Kowalski keeps him down. "No. Your ribs are broken, your flipper is re-broken, you have a bullet wound, a concussion, and Trixy is still designing you a proper prosthetic. You're on strict bedrest."

He looks at him frustratedly, but then nods and looks away. "Zarya Rose…"

"What?"

"That's her name...Zarya Rose." He lifts his eyes back to Kowalski. "She has him again...Had us both, but he helped me escape…"

Kowalski nods slowly and raises the medication levels on Manfredi's IV. "I'll tell Skipper...Now you should sleep, Manfredi. You need as much rest as you can get." He then turns out the light and closes the lab door behind him. He needed a moment to digest what Manfredi told him, but he knows he has no time for such pleasantries.

"Sir." He says, waddling over to Skipper, looking a little dazed. "Does the name Zarya Rose mean anything to you?"

Skipper looks over at him and considers this. "It sounds familiar...Maybe one of those exotic dancers from my time in Mexico…."

"Skipper!" Skippsy then exclaims.

"What? I was young and they were-"

"-No, not that!" Skippsy face-flippers. "Zarya Rose! Johnson's stalker!"

Skipper looks at her and then understanding flashes across his face and he slides to the elevator. "I'm sure I still have the mission files...I kept all of the ones from the early years."

Skippsy nods and looks at Kowalski. "She's from back when it was just Skipper, Manfredi, Johnson, Benjamin, and I...Crazy pine marten, had the hots for poor Johnny. She stalked him a few months before kidnapping him once before." She rubs under her chin thoughtfully. "But I had thought she died when she tumbled off that cliff in Montana."

Kowalski considers this. "I don't recall Johnson ever talking about her."

"He wouldn't have...He never told us what all happened...But I can tell you it scarred him for life." She looks at him gravely.

Kowalski doesn't look like he completely understands, but nods anyway. If Johnson really is still alive, then once they rescued him he could ask him himself later. He looks over at the elevator as Skipper waddles out with a purple file.

"I had her marked as probably dead…" Skipper frowns. "But then I've been wrong about someone being dead once or twice before."

"Yeah, just once or twice." Skippsy rolls her eyes and grabs the file from him. She skims through and shakes her head. "Why did you need to know about Zarya, Kowalski?"

"Manfredi said she has him."

"Who?"

"Johnson!"

Skipper and Skippsy look at him. "Did he say where at?" He asks.

"No...He just said that she had him." He looks at his feet.

"Well...She can't be too far off if Manfredi was able to crawl this far and live to tell about it." Skipper nods.

Kowalski considers this. "It's possible it could have been decently far. Manfredi wasn't bleeding very fast and most of his injuries are due to that crate falling on him. It's certainly possible that Manfredi could have stolen aboard cars and busses to get to the ferry and consequently to the docks in his attempt to reach us."

"Cougar Dam, that doesn't narrow done anything." Skippsy sighs.

Kowalski then gets the file from her and skims through it. "I know where she must be."

"Where?" She looks at him.

"John Boyd Thacher State Park." He nods. "It fits with her profile. It's about two and a half hours away by car."

Skipper nods slowly. "Big area though...Going to be even harder to search since we can't bring everyone with us on account of Manfredi and Atlas."

"Why don't we get Marlene to come? I'm certain Marissa could handle things here herself and that way we aren't a man down." Skippsy suggests.

Skipper doesn't look convinced. "And if things go wrong, you expect her to be able to evacuate an invalid and a baby herself?"

"Yeah? It wouldn't be the first time." She snorts. "My girls are capable of more than you give them credit for, Skipper."

"Erg, right…" He nods and looks towards the window. "I'll talk with Marlene and see if she's available to come…"

"I'll come with you." Skippsy says with a threatening glimmer in her eye, daring him to tell her no.

"Fine." He looks irritatedly at the ceiling. "Let's go then." He waddles over to the stairs and climbs up. Skippsy follows shortly behind.

Kowalski watches them go before waddling over to Marissa and Atlas. "Did you hear?"

"I'd be surprised if the whole zoo didn't hear. The Skippers aren't ones to use their indoor voices." She chuckles and gently nuzzles Atlas's cheek with her beak.

"I just….I can't believe it."

Marissa looks at him gently. "If you'd rather I go and you stay here for in case something has already happened…"

Kowalski shakes his head. "No, I'll go...It's just hard to believe."

She nods and softly kisses his cheek. "I'll text you if I get anything out of Manfredi."

"Thanks."

"Be careful."

Kowalski nods and kisses both her and Atlas's cheeks. "Maybe we won't be too late."

"It sounds like he's survived worse just fine, Kowalski." She rubs his upper flipper. "I'm sure he's okay now, too."

"Hopefully…"

Marissa nods. "But if he isn't...You can at least bring him home for a proper funeral."

"Yes...Of course…"


End file.
